Post H.S. Career | Max 5

Scott Bjugstad used deadly shot to score 48 goals, lead Irondale to first state tourney appearance

The old St. Paul Civic Center was famous for its clear Plexiglass boards.

A more useful novelty, at least for the 1979 state tournament, would have been swivel seats.

Long before neutral zone traps and other ice-clogging schemes became high-level hockey’s strategy du jour, the state’s best teams were playing the sort of full-throttle, round-and-round style seen at NASCAR superspeedways.

In the late 1970s, the neutral zone was more a launching pad than a patch of ice.

It was a goal-scorer’s paradise, and the sold-out Civic Center crowds were enthralled.

“I remember walking into the Civic Center, and the fans were lined up buying tickets,” said Scott Bjugstad, an Irondale senior in 1979. “There were so many people, they had nowhere to go after they got their tickets. So they had to crawl over the ticket booth and crawl up the ramp to get into the building.”

The tournament was overflowing with marquee attractions.

Defending champion Edina East was 19-4-0 and returned high-flying forwards Mike Lauen, Mark Gagnon, John Donnelly, Brad Benson and a host of others.

Grand Rapids headed south with a 22-0-1 record and abundance of scoring threats, including Kurt Kleinendorst, Tom Rothstein, John DeCenzo, Todd Lempe and Jim Malwitz.

Rochester John Marshall, the 1977 state champ, was 19-4-1 and featured one of southern Minnesota’s all-time great snipers in Todd Lecy.

Roseau was 21-2-0 and led by the irrepressible Aaron Broten, who had scored more than 100 points for the second straight season.

Irondale was the unknown commodity. The Knights were 19-4-1 and making their first state tournament appearance. Bjugstad, a player some would argue was the most gifted scorer of them all, was in the midst of a stunning 48-goal season but was hardly a media darling.

“I cannot even remember the first period,” Bjugstad said. “It was like my body was outside of my body. It was the weirdest thing.

“After the first period I was like, ‘What is going on?’ ”

Minneapolis Washburn had a two-goal lead heading into the third period, when Bjugstad erupted for three goals in the Knights’ 6-4 victory.

Irondale lost a 7-4 semifinal shootout with Rochester John Marshall the following day. Bjugstad finished the tournament with another hat trick in Irondale’s 9-7 loss to Roseau in the third-place game.

“I think there is no doubt it is the best memory I have of any hockey I’ve ever played,” said Bjugstad, who scored 43 goals in 44 games as a senior at the University of Minnesota in 1982-83, competed in the 1984 Olympics and in 1985-86 played left wing for the Minnesota North Stars on a line with NHL greats Neal Broten and Dino Ciccarelli.

The tall and lanky Bjugstad (he stood 6-foot-1 and weighed 170 pounds) didn’t have college and pro scouts lining up at his front door. According to Manley, it took a recommendation from former Minnesota coach Herb Brooks for the Gophers to take a chance on Bjugstad, who wasn’t drafted by the North Stars until after his freshman year at Minnesota.

“His parents weren’t the kind of people who would rattle the bars about how good their kid was,” Manley said. “He always was worried about his fellow players. He worried more about his buddies than he did about himself and his his own gratification.”

Bjugstad’s hallmark was his shot. He was deadly accurate no matter the distance, the angle or any other variables.

“Once you got the puck to him it didn’t matter if it was a forehand, backhand or slapshot, he put it into the net,” Manley said. “He had one of the most unbelievable shots I’ve ever seen.”

The uncle of 2010 Mr. Hockey and current Gophers star Nick Bjugstad, Scott Bjugstad was co-head coach of Blaine’s 2000 Class 2A state championship team. He lives in the Twin Cities and owns and operates the Scott Bjugstad Shooting School.